Could Germany's secret weapon be big data in 2014?

Any soccer fans? Back in Turkey, soccer, or the football in there, is a very popular game. I grew up playing soccer all the time and watching the legends of European and Latin American football. After I came to the States it has been difficult for me to catch up with the results as, between you and me, grad school doesn't let you have that kind of luxury, and of course the time difference.

You probably heard how FSU football team made use of the GPS technology to collect data on the players' heart rates, acceleration, and speed around 2013-2014 - good times (more on this). Well, Germany may have used a similar technology back in 2014 during the World Cup. It was a very successful tournament for Germany as they beat 5-time winner Brazil with a shocking score of 7-1. Of course the success of the team depends on hard work mostly, but it has been reported that the German Football Association was in collaboration with a software company called SAP AG in the beginning of the tournament. The company was using the data from previous games and reporting it to the German team so that the team can be best prepared against the rivals (more on this). It is not sure that it was the big data which helped Germany against Brazil or it was Brazil's bad performance but data is everywhere and it is possible to make use of it for decision making. What do you think? Details are here.